A Theater Full of Smiles and Lies
by LarkinRoss
Summary: Not the greatest of my stories. Originally written for my Language Arts class, it's a Sherlock Holmesstlye story featuring some characters from CSI, original characters, and a cameo from Panic! At The Disco's Ryan Ross


A Theater Full of Lies and Smiles

It was a dark and stormy night. Grissom and I were walking out of the Fortune Theater along with the rest of the audience. A play had just ended and he could not help but go on and on about it. The rain poured down upon every man and woman with umbrellas and coats, but one person caught my eye. A woman in a red dress was running through the crowd, presumably to get out of the rain. Not long after she disappeared and I continued to pretend to listen to my colleague, a shot and several screams were heard coming from the theater. It was faint and could be barely heard over the howling wind, but, unlike the rest of the crowd, we were still fairly close to the theater doors. We ran back inside to find an unusual sight. On the stage were two of the people in the play, another man, and a dying woman in his arms. Watching the scene from the audience was another man. The woman was Larkin Ross. She had been Juliet in the play and on stage were her fellow actors, Nicholas Stokes and Catherine Willows. Below was Matthew Sanders. We reached the stage to witness her final seconds.

"Greg," she said just before she let out her breath. The man named Greg burst into tears and hugged her. As I got a closer look, she had been shot, with the bullet still in her. My brother, Lucas, and another man entered from stage left, as if this had been their cue.

"Lucas? Lucas, what are you still doing here?"

"After Miss Ross was shot, Dr. McClendon and I went to see if the killer remained."

Grissom was about to say something as Ryan Ross and an officer from the Scotland Yard came rushing down the aisle.

"Larkin! Larkin!" Ryan ran to the stage, jumped up onto it, and took her away from Greg. "Oh, Larkin, what has he done to you?"

"If I ever, it's Detective Gil Grissom! Would you happen to know what exactly happened here?"

"I was just about to ask that same question to everyone here."

We turned to the people before us and were met with silence. Soon, Greg spoke up.

"Catherine, Nick, Lucas, Matthew and I were in here with Larkin, just talking. All of a sudden, she was shot and Catherine screamed. Dr. McClendon came out in a hurry and he along with Lucas went to see if the killer was still here. Then you two and Ryan came."

Ryan eyed the doctor.

"Dr. McClendon, where were you beforehand?"

"I was using the men's room. I heard the shot and ran out as fast as I could to see what was going on."

The officer took in all this information and told us what would happen. We were to all stay here until Grissom and I had solved the case. During this, Matthew had gone and found a cloth in one of the back rooms, which he placed over Larkin. Grissom told them to sit down in the audience chairs.

"So tell us, why are all of you here and what is your connection with Miss Ross?"

Lucas spoke up first.

"Well as you know, Nick, Catherine, and I were in the play with her."

"I don't know if this is really relevant," Catherine spoke," but if it helps any, I'm engaged to Matthew."

"I came to merely watch the play. Greg, my brother who's off sulking in a corner, and I were friends of Larkin's since we were little."

I turned to Ryan.

"Was Larkin your wife?"

"Oh no, she was my sister! I'm married to Dr. McClendon's sister, Heather."

"With that little ditty of information from Ryan, I'm assuming you can guess I was her brother-in-law. I also came to watch the play."

Grissom looked to each of the people before us, trying to gather some information from their faces. It was quiet for while until Catherine spoke up.

"We all mourn the loss of a dear friend and a wonderful actress, but I think Greg is taking it the hardest. He was about to ask her to marry him when she was shot."

Ryan looked up at the words and we all looked over to him. I walked over and sat next to Greg.

"Greg, what happened in your words?"

"I was just about to get on one knee when we heard the shot. I looked around until I heard Larkin fall. I held her as Lucas went off to find the person who did it."

"What about Dr. McClendon?"

"I didn't see him until he and Lucas came back in."

"Thank you for telling me all this, Greg."

He merely nodded and followed me back to the larger group. I motioned to Grissom that I wanted to talk to him privately.

"What is it, Brass?" He asked as we sat at the back of the theater. I sat there, rummaging through the thoughts stored away in my head.

"I believe you are right, the lady in the red dress has to do with this somehow."

I gave him a puzzled look.

"A woman in red is pretty easy to see against the dark brown color of coats."

"That would be a given."

"But there is another thing, Brass. She didn't have a coat. It wasn't raining until the people started coming to watch the play. That must mean she was here long before that."

"Is she a suspect?"

"For now, she is just a mere clip of the bigger picture."

As we returned to the rest of the group, we decided to search the building once again. Ryan, Greg, and Catherine stayed with Larkin's body, Lucas and Nick searched the back rooms on the first level, Matthew and Dr. McClendon searched the second level, while Grissom and I searched the chairs.

"Detective!"

Grissom and I looked up to see Matthew and the doctor in one of the boxes.

"What is it Matthew?"

"I found a gun, sir!"

"Bring it down here and let's get a closer look at it. Ryan, would you please go get the others?"

He nodded and went off to get Lucas and Nick. Once Matthew and Dr. McClendon came down, Grissom examined the gun.

"Who was sitting there tonight?"

"Why, I was Detective." It was the doctor who had spoken up. "I sat there tonight, but it's not my gun. I don't carry one."

Lucas and the others joined us. Greg let out a cry.

"That's my gun!"

We all looked at him. He felt around to find his holster empty. He stuttered.

"I would never kill Larkin! I loved her!"

Ryan exploded.

"You didn't love her! You killed her! We found your gun! Why did you kill her?"

"I didn't kill her! You have to believe me. I would never lay a hand on her."

Matthew and Nick withheld them from punching each other. Soon, they calmed down.

"I don't know how my gun got there, honestly. And besides, I was down here when she was shot. Everyone here except for Dr. McClendon and Ryan was here with me. They can vouch for me." He seemed to accept this.

"So who did do it?"

"That's what Brass and I are here to find out."

We turned in for the night with everyone in eyesight of each other. The coroner had come to take Larkin away and after that, we locked all the doors to the room we were in. The next morning, Grissom woke me up early to talk. Since the hall was big and everyone else was still asleep, we moved to the back and conversed there.

"What are the motives these people have, Brass?"

"Well, I don't know about Nick, Catherine, Dr. McClendon, or Lucas, but the rest of them have high and mighty reasons."

"Let's hear them."

"Well I talked with Matthew and he told me he was in love with Heather, Ryan's wife. He could have thought that if he killed Larkin, Ryan would be to busy grieving and he could have Heather."

"Interesting theory, go on."

"Ryan obviously doesn't like Greg. Maybe he could have found out that he would propose. He knew Larkin would say yes so he killed her in the knick of time."

"What about Greg?"

"He could have a motive based on that. He knew that Ryan was against them being together so maybe, it could be a 'if I can't have her, no one can' situation."

"You have been doing some thinking, Brass. I have also been talking with our suspects. Catherine was going to get the lead role if Elizabeth hadn't come along, that's her motive. Nick was sick of Elizabeth getting all of the glory. Those two could have been jealous. Finally, Lucas was bidding everyone a good night. He wouldn't have had enough time to run upstairs in the amount of time between us leaving, and the shot. They were all on stage with Larkin when she was shot, not in the booth. Ryan was outside running to his car. The only one without an alibi or a motive is Dr. McClendon."

"We also know that Dr. McClendon is the only one who isn't really close to Larkin."

"It wouldn't be hard to kill a stranger."

I walked into the kitchen to get some food for the rest of us, but someone was waiting for me. It was the woman I was the other night, still in the same red dress she had been wearing.

"Who are you?"

"You mustn't let him know I am here. I am Heather McClendon Ross, Dr. McClendon's younger sister and Ryan's wife."

"Why are you here?"

"I have to tell you why I was here that day and why I was running away."

"Go ahead."

"I was here, trying to convince Larkin to leave."

"You wanted her to leave?"

"Yes. You see, my brother is over-protective. When I married Ryan, he believed I wouldn't love him anymore. He believed that Ryan was taking his sister away from him. So, that's what he wanted to do in return, take his sister away from him."

"Why go through all this trouble?"

"I honestly don't know, but he wasn't supposed to succeed. She promised she would leave right when the play ended, but she stayed.

"She stayed because Greg was asking her to marry him."

"Yes, since I saw that she stayed, I couldn't bear to see her get shot so I ran."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"Jack would have killed me too! He hates anyone who is against him. That's why I've been hiding."

"We have to tell Grissom. And you have to come."

"I can't!"

"You can, trust me."

I brought her out to the main hall. As soon as Dr. McClendon saw her he panicked.

"Heather?"

"Grissom, Mrs. Ross has something to tell us."

All eyes were focused on her as she told the story over.

Ryan was furious. They turned back to Dr. McClendon but he had vanished. The sound of rain and footsteps could be heard. The door was swinging open and closed and you could make out his figure running in the distance. No one made a move for him though. No one went except for Heather, who ran out after her dear brother. And not long after she did, a gun shot sounded through the empty black. Lucas said a line from the night before.

"'See, what a scourge is laid upon your hate, That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love.'"

We all turned back toward each other, but found one of out party missing. Another empty gun shot sounded through the theater, signaling for the final curtain to fall. Greg was lying dead in the same spot Larkin had been before. He had finally found the peace within himself. As Matthew closed his eyes and placed his coat over his dear brother's face, Grissom said the last line of the play.

"'For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.'"


End file.
